Animorphs Next Gen 1 The Hidden
by Anily AKW-DPP
Summary: When Lyz dies Jared finds out about a curse that is in the Animorphs bloodlines. The Animorphs suspect that something wrong is going on with Jared and they vow to find out the secret Lyz and Jared keeps from them whether they like it or not R&R plz
1. Lyz POV

disclaimer- i no own Animorphs, i do own Animorphs Next Generation (aka the kids) and myself! no, wait, my parents own me...

anyway, this is the first Animorphs Next Generation book! yea yea, i know i have other stories with Anilie and Jared and the rest, including The Letter2 and etc, but i was still a beginner writer then. i'm either not bothering redoing or redoing them (The Letter2 will be the next book after this one). so this is the first OFFICIAL Animorphs Next Generation book.

up to chapter three will be posted soon- they're all done, but they're not that long. i'm still thinking about what should happen in the next chapter.

and yes, The Hidden has been rewritten. this would be version 2. the first version is still on my comp, i might post if u guys want me 2.

i'll shut up now.

--

Prologue: Anily/Lyzah Fangor-Fuentes

I have a secret.

No, not that one. Nearly everyone knows that I'm Tobias Fangor's twin sister, daughter of Andalite Elfangor and Human Loren, niece of Andalite Aximili, wife to Marco Fuentes, and morph capable. But there's a secret I've never told anyone. This letter is the only proof of it.

I'm on the verge of death right now. Which is why I'm writing this- in hopes that if the next generation of the Animorphs get cursed as well, that they will find this and know how to deal with the Curse.

There's no guarantee that they would actually be given the Curse. They might not even have it, and it could skip to the next generation, or maybe I might be the only generation that has it for thousands of years.

But I have to be safe. Just in case someone does get the Curse.

Now, to tell you what the Curse is...

CHAPTER ONE: Anily/Lyzah Fangor-Fuentes FLASHBACK

It was a year before I found out about my twin and his friends when it happened.

I was sitting in a chair in the willing Controllers area. I knew all about the Yeerks, having been a Controller for as long as I could remember, but nothing else- nothing about the Andalites, except that Visser Three was the only one to control one, the only two non animal races I knew were the humans and the Yeerks.

I didn't like the fact that I was the youngest willing Controller, and that I was hated by nearly all of the non-willing Controllers, but it was one I had learned to accept after a few years. Besides, I was given a nice Yeerk- Kala One-One-Five. He nearly always let me have control, unless we are in the Yeerk Pool, or a Controller was talking to us- he knew I'd probably do something horrible to them if he didn't take control then. He acted as a reminder time to time, well, a lot of the time, since I have pretty much a horrible memory. And he's one of my closest friends. He's always there for me, unless he was feeding on Kandrona Rays every three days, even though most of the time he doesn't need it because we kept our own personal mini pool in my house for when he needed it and we couldn't get out for the meeting.

"Hey Lyz." An older guy willing Controller host said as he said across from me. His name was DeTrall, two years older than me, an African American (I hate saying that label!), at least half a foot taller than me, and a good friend. He knew how much seniority I had over him as a Controller, but we disregarded it. He had only joined to make sure that I would have someone watching over me in every mission Kala and his Yeerk were sent on- at least DeTrall's Yeerk is like Kala as well.

"Hey DeTrall. How did the competition go?" I asked. We were both in Science Olympiad, a science (mostly) competition, but I had a different competition that I had to go to that morning, which was that day, a math one that made me really stressed out.

"Eh, not that good. But we'll beet Beckendorf next week with you at the regional!" DeTrall answered, a large smile on his face.

"Beckendorf?" I wondered.

"Some other school out of our district." DeTrall replied, sighing. "Got our asses beat by them."

I laughed. "Then we'll probably won't see them until the regional if they're not in our district. But I have a feeling I won't hear the end of it even after then."

DeTrall smiled again. "You probably won't- that is, if Truc is still there!" Truc was another guy that was in DeTrall's class. I didn't really know him, but I knew who he was- after all, he was my partner in an event! "OK, enough about our total failure, what about yours?"

I put on a fake expression of shock. "DeTrall, how could you assume that we failed?!" We laughed some more until I continued. "But actually..."

"A-ha! I WAS right!" He exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Our highest placing person-"

"You," DeTrall interrupted.

"-got 96th place, and our lowest placing person-"

"Clifford,"

"-got in the 200s, with 7 questions right." I rolled my eyes at DeTrall, knowing he knew he was right. Again.

"Hey, cheer up! At least you and Thomas got into the top eight back in January!" DeTrall stated.

"Y- wait, I didn't know you back then! How do you know?" I wondered. We had barely met two months ago back in February, and even though we quickly became friends, I never told him about that.

"Hey, I actually LISTEN to the announcements..." DeTrall began.

"And Ms. B." We finished in unison.

Then suddenly time froze. And I don't mean as in Ellimist froze. No one moved other than me and no one even looked like they were going to anytime soon. I went over to DeTrall to see if he was alive, and was surprised when I felt his heartbeat. I did the same with several others and found the same thing- they all had heartbeats, but weren't moving.

Stressed, I sat back down and thought about what I had done right before time froze. I had spoke in unison with DeTrall, but I had done that multiple times before; I had smiled, but how can a smile make time freeze?

My eyes then wandered to my left wrist and onto the wa...

"Watch?" I muttered. "I wasn't wearing a watch!" The crown was pulled out of the analog wrist watch, so it wasn't moving. I shrugged and decided that what I was about to do was worth a shot. I got back into the position I was in before time froze then pushed in the crown.

"Hey, I actually LISTEN to the announcements..." DeTrall began.

Major sense of De Ja Vu...

"And Ms. B." I said in unison with him. I was worried that time would stop again but instead time continued normally.

A Hork-Bajir Controller came up to us. This Hork-Bajir was being controlled right now by a very serious Yeerk, one that doesn't really like DeTrall' and my Yeerks. But she was kind to us when we weren't under control, believing hosts shouldn't be treated badly if it is the controller you hate.

"I'm guessing that Kala's ready?" I said.

The Controller nodded. She had had her tongue cut out, so she couldn't talk- at least, until she got a new host- but DeTrall and I always knew what she wanted to tell us.

"Well, I'll see you on Monday DeTrall." I stood from my chair as I waved goodbye.

"See ya," DeTrall replied.

The line went quickly for once, and I was at the end of the infestation pier. I felt the cold hearted glares at the back of my head from the non-willing host behind me, and the ones behind her.

As I bent down over the edge in order for Kala to enter, she spat on me- the host, not the Hork-Bajir Controller. I took a deep breath, and wiped off the spit. I sighed, tired of this routine. I was used to this- they always did this. Angry at me for willing to be a host the majority of my life. Angry at me for allowing myself to get into this mess. And basically angry about everything about me. But I got used to it. Just like I got used to being a Controller. I just ignored the woman.

The Hork-Bajir Controller gave her a cold glare for me while I leaned over and waited for Kala to enter. It took a while, but he did.

Kala took control, like he always did when he entered me again. He made me stand, then turned to the Hork-Bajir Controller. "Thank you for your service and making sure my host didn't get into trouble, Liek." He always thanked her, and he always meant it, even if she didn't always like him. He always disregarded the fact that she rarely liked him, and took the fact that she couldn't talk right now as an advantage- "Since she can't talk, she can't cuss me out!" he would tell me. I would always laugh, because I think something different- that Kala liked Liek!

Kala walked us off of the pier and towards the stairs that were pass the willing Controllers area. He let me wave to DeTrall before he took control again, which only lasted until we were out of the pool entrance. After that, he "leaned back" and read my memories, wondering what I did during the time he was in the pool. If he had a physical body then, he'd be raising an eyebrow in confusion.

((What's this about time stopping? And what watch? You're not wearing one now...)) Kala asked me.

((That's the thing, I don't know where it came from! I don't know what happened either!)) I replied.

((Hm...)) Kala would have rubbed his chin if he was a human. Then he would have slapped his head when he said, ((That's it!))

((What's it?)) I was completely confused. I got a drink from a vending machine (the entrance we had gone through was in a mall) and sat down at a table in the food court.

((I know what happened to you back there.)) Kala said.

I rolled my eyes. I had figured that much out. I suddenly felt hot. I removed my jacket and tied it around my waist. ((And that would be?)) I muttered, drinking my water.

((Ingrate.)) Kala mumbled. ((It's an old Yeerk legend, really, but it matches what happened to you, and the reason why now your head feels like you have a heat wave in here!))

((What do you mean by the heat wave? It's not that hot...)) I stated, having gotten used to the quick blast of heat fast after I drank some water. ((And what Yeerk legend?))

((They called it The Curse because the first person to get it, will be cursed with a large burden with the powers that come with it. It is also said that it will continue passing on from generation to generation until the person's bloodline is completely extinct.)) Kala explained.

((You're hiding something.)) I said calmly as I sipped some more water. ((Spill it.))

Kala sighed. ((They also said that the first person to ever get The Curse would be from one of the Yeerk's most feared enemy's race.))

((The Andalites. Go on.)) I took in this information unsure. Did that mean my parents also had The Curse? And JJ as well? And everyone before me? And that we were descended from ALIENS?!

((The first one will be of Andalite blood- and yet be sided with the Yeerks.)) Kala finished, dread in his voice.

((You mean the Visser?)) I wondered, confused. I wasn't related to him at all! Right?

Kala sighed again. ((No, Lyz. He's not the first one to be with The Curse.))

((You are.))

-present day again-

That was my first day with The Curse, which I would later start calling the Hidden, because all of it had to be kept hidden until the next person with The Curse got his or her powers.

At first, I had thought, "This has to be bull! There is no way I have powers!" But it was true, and I couldn't change that fact.

After a while, I had learned how to control my powers. Kala and I had done some tests first, to see what powers I had exactly. I only had control over Time and Fire. It had taken a while, but after several accident trips back and forward in time, and some "fevers" and fires, I had it down. If I knew this was something serious I would have gone around in a mask and cape, calling myself Endless Flame, endless from time since I could control forever, and flame from, of course, fire.

If I had known being the first victim of The Curse wasn't so great, I would have gone back in time and tried to prevent it at first. But even me, controller of Time in this world, couldn't have known what would happen to myself in the future- or rather, now...

-

*mock gasp* what will happen to me? find out in the next chapter! :D


	2. Jared POV

disclaimer- check in 1st chap, no feel like writing it.

i kno this chap is sorta short- i'm still thinking about what will happen next in chap4 and who's POV it will be... *shrug* i'll say more in the next chap.

i'll shut up again.

--

CHAPTER TWO: Jared Jordan Fuentes

I woke up screaming.

Sweat dripping off of me and panting, I glanced at my alarm clock. The glowing red numbers glowed 1 AM.

Groaning, I stared at the dark blue walls of my room. My dark colored clothes were thrown on the floor- yesterday's desperate attempt to find something that didn't smell to wear...

My name is Jared. I'm currently sixteen, five feet six, have dark brown eyes, olive colored skin like my father, and slightly longer than average messy black hair. I've become a slightly more dark person than I was before, hence all of the dark colors. I'm not sure what happened, but I suddenly got fascinated by the night and darkness...

"Jared honey, are you all right?" A woman's voice asked as the head that went with it peeked inside my room, followed by the rest of her body.

That woman would be my mom. She's shorter than me by one inch, has dirty blond hair, honey eyes and skin that was definitely lighter than mine. Most people would wonder who my mom REAL mom is, because I look nothing like her. But the one thing that people know for sure about her is that she's Tobias Fangor the Animorph's twin sister. And when they see her and my dad together, they still question why she married him. Even though they're adults, they act like kids around each other- playing "innocent" tricks with each other, bickering, fooling around...

"I'm all right Mom. I just had a nightmare." I told her. I didn't want to worry her, after what she's been going through. "I'll walk with you back to your room with Dad. Sorry if I waked you,"

Mom has cancer. She didn't want anyone to worry about her, so she only told the rest of her fellow Animorphs, which included Dad, since, after all, he is Marco. She didn't intend for me to find out at first, but I had overheard. I was heading back to my room when I heard her say the words that haunt me: "I have cancer." I had ran into my room and cried for hours, knowing that many people died from cancer, and couldn't stand the thought of losing her. She had helped me through basically every hard time in my life- that is, unless it was a thing that only guys could understand, in that case, I went to Dad. Mom has always known how to make me feel better, has always known what I liked, what I wanted, what I didn't really need, and let me talk to her about my deepest secrets- despite the fact that they wouldn't really be secrets if I told someone...

"No, I'm all right Jared. As for the waking me up part," Mom smiled. "Do you think I can sleep with your father's snoring?"

I laughed, a rare smile on my face. Since I started becoming more dark, I didn't really smile a lot, though I did laugh more often.

"Besides, I need to talk to you." Mom said.

"About what? What can possibly be so important that it can't wait until the actual morning?" I wondered.

"You sound like a smarter version of your father." Mom stated.

"Oh what? Your calling Dad dumb?" I countered, smirking.

Mom laughed at that. "Well, no, not really, but whenever he says that in general, he doesn't use the big words."

We stood there laughing for a while longer. After we got it all out, we sat next to each other on my bed.

"OK, now seriously, what is it that you want to talk about?" I asked.

Mom glanced at the note that was in her hand. I didn't remember seeing her with it earlier when she entered, but I assumed she had it hidden somewhere and just taken it out. "It's this. I noticed that you're leaning towards the 'Dark Side' lately. I think I know what's making you be like that, and this letter will tell you everything you'll need to know, and then some. But I don't want you to open it until after I'm gone."

"Mom, you don't know that you'll die from the cancer," I stated, trying to keep myself from crying- I always seemed to tear up when I started talking about a subject I was sensitive about.

She shook her head, a smile appeared on her face. "OK then, just don't open it until I tell you to or until I die," She ordered. "I can't let you knowing it too early or too late, just don't until then, OK? Promise me."

I nodded. "I promise," I said, taking the letter. "I think we should go to bed now,"

Mom rolled her eyes. "Yeah, for all we know, your father's about to call the cops because I'm not there next to him. You know him, since the thing and all that..." She stood up. "Night Jar-Head."

"Mom!" I groaned. She knew I hated that name, but it didn't stop her from using it.

"Fine, night Jared," She said, stopping at the doorway.

"See you in the morning Mom." I replied as she smiled and left my room, closing the door behind her. I sighed again, covered my head with my sheets, then slowly fell asleep.

-later that day in the afternoon-

"Jared you just can't go out on us! Mom's in the hospital! She's dying!" My twin sister Anilie- who was named after my Mom by changing the spelling of her Andalite name, and looks exactly like her too- shouted at me as I grabbed my jacket to leave. Unlike me, she and the rest of my cousins who weren't here right now didn't know about the cancer.

I was so stressed out right now. I was mad at myself for not knowing it sooner that Mom knew she was going to die today. I was mad at her for leaving us and not telling us. I was mad at nearly everything and everyone then.

Just before Anilie was about to yell some more, I lost it. I exploded. "Don't tell me that I don't care! Mom meant the world to me! She was basically my best friend! I know what you think and all that but I do care! I just can't take it anymore!" I yelled back at her. "I've known all along that she had cancer, and it's been a burden knowing and having to keep it secret. You don't know what it's like!" I turned away, not able to face her anymore. "I'm leaving. Don't wait up." I opened the front door and slammed it behind me, running like crazy. Running as if it would get me away from my problems. Like it would help the situation.

I just wanted to be alone...

And there's only one place where I can do that.

-somewhere else-

I sat on the roof top, arms on my knees, head resting in my arms, eyes staring out at the horizon. I didn't know what to do. Mom was dying, Anilie probably thought I was betraying the family, and I hated myself just then. This couldn't be happening... It couldn't be...

My Mom and Dad have tried desperately to prevent what happened to their parents from happening to us. Mom couldn't stand the thought of Anilie and I having to live with either her or Dad being murdered, like what happened to her father, Elfangor. Dad couldn't stand the thought of having either him or Mom "die" only to find out that she was alive after years of hurt, like with him and his mother. Both of them didn't want us to lose one or both of them.

The only difference with their situations and mine is that they couldn't do anything to prevent it- it just happened then and there. But in my current one, there was weeks between the time Mom found out she had cancer and now. We had plenty of time to try to find out a way to stop it.

But we didn't.

It just wasn't fair...

I felt a sudden cold breeze around me and I saw a mini Yeerk Pool appear out of no where next to me- with a Yeerk in it!

I cocked my head to the side, staring at it in confusion. A note appeared in my hand. I stared at the note, not sure how it got there. I opened it up and in rushed handwriting it said:

"Don't worry Jared, it's just Kala in there. He'll tell you what's going on.

"Love,

"Mom."

"Kala?" I repeated. Kala was Mom's Yeerk. She's been a Controller all her life, and luckily got a Yeerk that wasn't like Visser Three/One. Another note appeared in my hand as soon as I said that- the letter Mom gave to me last night. I had left it at home this morning- whoever was putting Kala and the other note with me must have wanted me to have it then. I felt a cold touch on my left cheek- a kiss...

I shivered and put the thought out of my mind. There was no such thing as ghosts. I glanced at the small Yeerk Pool and Kala in it. I sighed and figured that I had nothing to lose if I let Kala use me as a host for now on- after all, what use would Mom be to him as a host when she dies?

My hand dipped into the strange liquid and I felt Kala's sluggish form get on it. I raised him to my ear and let him enter.

Becoming a Controller didn't really hurt as much as I thought it would be. It seemed like Kala had learned how to keep from taking over whenever he entered because I was still able to move by myself.

((I'm sorry Jared.)) Kala said slowly.

I stared at the ground in sorrow. ((I know.)) I replied. ((Is it hard for you? I mean, you've known her ever since she was barely a year old. How do you deal with it?))

Kala was silent at first. ((It is, harder than I think I'll ever be able to explain or feel again. It is always hard to lose a loved one- especially one that you've known for most of your life...)) He paused. ((I don't know how I ever deal with it. I just know that I can't be moping around on the past- nothing can change that. I just weep for what it's worth, then go back to my life. I don't mean for you to forget your mother, Jared- even I can't do that. Just reflect on all of the good times, not the bad. Those are the times you forget- learning that she has cancer, when she died...))

Tears formed in my eyes. ((So she's really dead now?))

Kala would have nodded if he could. ((Yes, I'm sorry once again Jared. But we have other matters to get to.))

I nodded and took out the letter Mom gave me last night.

--

i didn't kno how 2 end it... oh well.


	3. Kala POV

disclaimer is in chap1- don't feel like writing it...

i'll talk more at the end of the chapter.

i'll shut up now.

--

CHAPTER THREE: Kala One-One-Five

It hurt my heart to know that Lyz died. She had been my only host in my entire lifetime. Jared would be only my second one. And being in Jared's head was no better than being in anyone else right now. It was worse. He was Lyz's son. She was the only mother he had ever known. His heart ached with pain, anger and sorrow. It wouldn't really help him now, with the one being who knew everything his mother felt in him. I felt sad that I couldn't help him feel better, but at least I can help him with a new step in his life...

Jared quickly read the letter, despite it being almost five pages long, and finished quite soon. And in his head, I knew that it was in his memory as if it was branded there. He shook his head. "You're expecting me to believe that Mom had power of Time and Fire?"

((If you think about it, it makes sense, Jared. How else could the letter have gotten in her hands this morning if she didn't have it before? How could myself or the other note have gotten here? How could you have felt the cold kiss when no one was there? How else can you explain the fact that she's never cold, not even when they went to the North Pole for a mission? Think about it.)) I said. ((I was there when she got them, remember? And I'm a Yeerk, one who knows all about The Curse.))

He sighed. "So does that mean...?"

I shrugged, not meaning to take control over Jared then, seeing I made him shrug as well. ((Like your mother said, she's not sure if you and Anilie will ever get The Curse. Who knows? It might just skip you.))

Jared closed his eyes and leaned back. "What about what Mom said last night? She said something about how she thinks she knows why I became like I am now."

I thought. When I realized what Lyz had thought last night, I wished I didn't have to be the one to tell him. It wasn't exactly the best power of them all...

"OK then, what are all of the powers that one could get?" Jared wondered, seeing I wasn't going to answer him anytime soon.

((Time, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Life, Death, Dream/Fantasy, Nightmare, Hope, Fate/Destiny, those are the self-explanatory. Then there's Universal and Chaos. Universal would be control over all of the universes, able to open up portals between them, and able to travel between them as well. Chaos isn't just chaos like you would think. Chaos controls all of the Harmony and War in the world. Chaos would be basically the person who keeps the Yin and Yang in the world equal,)) I said. ((It is also not possible to have the same power as someone else until they have died.))

"So that shortens it down to, well, now that Mom died, that doesn't shorten it down..." Jared muttered standing up.

((Where are you going?)) I asked.

"I'm going to talk to Anilie. I was too rough on her this morning when I left..." Jared replied, regret in his voice.

((I understand.)) I told him. ((Just don't tell anyone that I'm in you for now, all right?))

Jared laughed a bit and nodded. "OK, I won't."

-Fuentes House Hold-

Marco opened the door for Jared when he knocked. "Jare," He whispered.

Jared nodded at his father as he stepped in.

"I'm sorry, Jare. I know how close you and your mom were," Marco stated as he patted his son's back.

I felt like I was intruding- this was a father-son moment, not a father-son-Yeerk moment. Even though I was the only person who knew everything about Lyz, it didn't feel right...

"Is Anilie home?" Jared asked, trying to forget that his mother was dead. But that would be hard, considering that Anilie was both named after and looked nearly exactly like Lyz.

"She's in the kitchen." Marco replied. "I'll be flying if you need me,"

Jared nodded and headed to talk to his sister. He opened the door leading to the kitchen. Anilie was sitting on a stool at the counter, arms crossed, head down. Faint sobbing could be heard. Jared's expression turned soft; he was wishing he never yelled at her- it always hurt him to see people hurt.

((She feels like she's a burden.)) I told him.

((What?)) He wondered.

((She feels like she's causing everyone pain, especially since the fact she looks and is named after Lyz. She thinks she's hurting everyone by being who she is,)) I explained.

The boy shook his head. ((I'm still going to try to talk to her,))

((And I won't stop you,)) I replied as he sat down on Anilie's right.

"Sis, are you OK?" Jared whispered, hand on her back, concern on his face.

"Leave me alone." Anilie muttered, burrying her head even more into her arms and hair.

"Ani, listen, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier," Jared said. "I was just so stressed, and I've been holing up all of that stress and anger inside of me for a long time. I just exploded." He began to say something else.

"Just save it." Anilie interrupted. She placed her chin on her arms, stray tears still falling. "I understand." She then placed her head on Jared's chest. "I'm sorry I suspected you for not caring about Mom."

Jared placed his chin on the top of her head. He rubbed her back. "It's OK." He soothed. "Besides, I don't think Mom would want us to mourn over her too much." He smiled, thinking about what I had said earlier.

I smiled myself mentally. I was glad that he was happy again.

And I'm sure Lyz was too- wherever she was.

--

chapter 4 is getting there! press the review button now!


	4. Chapter4Jared

All characters go to proper owners.

CHAPTER FOUR- Jared Jordan Fuentes-one week later

The day of Mom's funeral.

We, as in all of my family, were all standing around her gravestone. I think it was the first and last time I'd see my sister and Teague in dresses, Anilie in a black knee length, sleeveless one, Teague in a black long sleeved, three inches past her knee. Lauren has already worn dresses before- this one was a spaghetti strap black dress with a sequined flower on the trim. Allan and I were wearing similar black tuxedos which matched basically all of the other men in our family. Aunt Rachel was wearing a sleeveless version of Lauren's dress and Aunt Cassie was wearing a pant suit.

I waited until everyone was gone and Mom was buried. Dad said to call when I was ready to go home so he could get me or to walk home, whichever I felt like. I just sat down next to her gravestone and stared into the sky, trying not to let my eyes tear up. But they still did.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whispered. "You knew, didn't you? You knew that you were going to die that day? And you still didn't tell me?" Tears fell onto her freshly dug grave. But then I realized that it was raining.

"Just perfect." I muttered. I shook my head but didn't move. I didn't want to leave her just yet. I knew that Kala would have chastised me for not getting up and finding dry shelter, but since he was in need of Kandrona Rays, he was at home in the hidden portable Yeerk Pool.

After a few more minutes I noticed a shadow standing over me and that I was no longer being hit with rain.

Lifting my head from my knees and arms, I looked over my shoulder and saw a woman holding an umbrella over us. She had dark pupils, almost pitch black, pale white skin that contrasted with it, mostly black chin length hair with a white streak in it and a long part of hair that was mostly white in a tie, wearing a black shirt and pants, and a chain with the Yin/Black part of the Yin-Yang symbol on it. A slight smile was on her face.

"It's raining, you know." She said as she crouched down beside me, making sure the umbrella covered most of me, not really caring about herself.

"I know." I replied.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Then why are you still in the rain?"

I turned completely. "Why are YOU in the rain?"

She didn't really have a come back to that. So instead she just turned to Mom's gravestone. I returned to my original position and stared out into nothing. We stayed like that for a while.

"So what were you doing before this wet weather hit?" The woman wondered.

I wasn't sure if I should reply but I did anyway. "Just paying my respects to my Mom." I answered. "What about you?"

The woman seemed shocked. "You're Lyz Fangor's son?" She asked. I nodded. "So you're Jared! Where's the rest of the family? I was hoping to meet them all."

It was my turn to be surprised. I turned again. "You knew Mom?"

"Yes. She was a brave and trustworthy woman. It's sad that she died." She whispered, staring at the stone again.

I raised my eyebrow, confused at how I never met her before. "Who are you?"

"Me?" She repeated. I nodded. "I'm Silver Nites. I know it's a slightly unusual name, but you should ask the people who named me why they named me that."

The name repeated in my head. I don't think I remembered Mom ever talking about her... But I still acted as if I didn't realize that.

Silver smiled. "Come on, don't want to get sick, now do ya?" She stood and offered me a gloved hand.

I took it and stood, not noticing that the mud that was on me suddenly all fell off and back on/into the ground. I felt a chill when I touched her hand, then a sudden blast of warmth. It alternated between cold and warm around her after that moment.

"I'll call your dad and say that I'm letting you stay with me until the weather clears up." Silver said, already starting to pull out her cell phone before turning to me to see if I approved. I just nodded and he dialed as we began walking. "Marco, this is Silver Nites." Pause. "One of Lyz's fighting instructors." Pause. "Yes, that one." Pause. "I'm going to take Jared back to my place since it's pouring." Pause. "Of course I'll bring him back in one piece, what do you think of me?" One last pause. "OK, see you later," Silver hanged up.

"Where's your car?" I asked, seeing there wasn't any that I could see so far.

Silver looked at me as if I had offended her. "Car?" She repeated as if he didn't know what a car was.

I laughed and Silver stared at me. "You're serious? You don't know what a car is?" I didn't think I'd see anyone in this year or as long as I lived who didn't know what a car was. "A car? A four wheeled machine that you drive to take you places?" Silver still looked confused. "Never mind then. If you didn't use a car, then how did you get here?"

"Walked." Silver answered.

Great. Just great.

-later-

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at a three story brick house. There weren't many of those nowadays. Mostly two and one story houses unless they were apartment buildings.

Silver knocked- or banged, depending on how you looked at it- on the door. "Hey, Aqua! Get your nose out of Escape From Memory and open up the door!"

I heard a sigh from the inside. "Even after knowing you for so long, you'd think you'd know that I'm not the only one in here that you can call and that you should get a key?" Several clicks could be heard as the locks were undone and she opened the door.

Aqua was about my age, with black hair that reached her shoulders, slightly wavy, dark blue eyes, wearing a teal shirt and blue jeans. Even though she looked my age, she seemed a lot smarter, and more mature. I suspected that Aqua was an Andalite in morph. "Oh. Silver, who's he?"

"Who, him?" Silver replied, pretending that she didn't realize that I was with her- I almost believed her expression. "Oh. He's Jared Fuentes, you know, Lyz's son? You remember Lyz, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Aqua said as she stepped out of the way so we could enter. "How could I forget? You dragged the poor girl over here to practice nearly everyday!"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Mom came here nearly everyday?

Aqua whispered something into Silver's ear. Silver put up one finger and Aqua shuddered. She whispered something else before they noticed that I was still within possible hearing range, but I looked away and at my feet, pretending I wasn't paying attention, that I was just a depressed teen because his mom died.

Silver clapped her hands together suddenly, getting my attention again. "OK so let's start training!"

"TRAINING?!" Aqua and I replied in unison.

"Silver, the guy just lost his mother and it's RAINING. I-" Aqua began.

"-Think it's the PERFECT time for him to start!" Silver finished.

I groaned. I didn't even want to know what it was that she was talking about.

Aqua sighed. "Let me get Demetri's spare casual clothes, seeing you can't fight in a tuxedo." She hurried upstairs and back down. She held a silver suit- a hooded jacket and baggy pants- in her hands. The jacket had a serpent on the front with black flames on the background, 3D claws on the shoulders and near the wrists. On the pants, on one leg, the right one, more black flames, and on the left one a cobra twisting around the leg as if it was about to bit me. "Here, bathroom's second door on the left down this hallway," She placed the clothes in my arms.

Five minutes later, after I had put my suit in a plastic Wal-Mart bag I found outside the door, I walked outside into the backyard where Silver was waiting for me. She had all of her longer hair in a bun thing, and was wearing a black shirt and jeans.

"Show me what ya got." She said automatically. I had a strange feeling of De Ja Vu- like this was exactly what Mom had gone through when she first met Silver...

That or Nina Williams from Tekken.

I thought back to all the times I played the Tekken games- both my parents, especially Mom, liked playing Tekken, and most of the time Mom kicked our butts at Tekken- and tried to remember some moves. I didn't know if I could use them, or if I could do them, but it was worth a shot.

I quickly ducked down and used a floor sweep under her but then she jumped up as soon as my leg reached the place that she was a few moments ago. I ducked and hugged the ground when she landed again and tried to hit me with a high kick. I stood up and did a back flip, hitting her chin with my sneakers as I did so.

Silver jerked back as I landed back on my feet. She wiped her lip with the back of her hand, since it was bleeding. I didn't realize I had hit her that hard...

She smirked she saw that I was letting my guard slip. She started spinning.

"Oh crap," I whispered when I realized which Tekken character did that move and what happened. It was one of the moves that Asuka Kazama used, and normally it was a strong one.

So, once I did, I did the most reasonable thing I could think of then.

I grabbed her by the legs and threw her over my back.

"That's gonna leave a mark," I heard Aqua say as I jumped away from Silver. Something my Mom told me when we were playing Tekken- when your opponent is down, don't stay near them, they could attack you while getting up.

The woman growled as she stood up and got back into her fighting stance. "Lucky shot," She muttered.

"Sure it was," I replied with sarcasm as I kicked her with my right foot in the chest, which she blocked with her arms, sliding a few inches back. Just as she was about to punch me in the face, I ducked and swept my left leg under her feet before she could react.

Silver fell again but then attacked me before I could get out of the way. She kicked me in the shin as she stood then punched my right arm. She did a high kick to my chin, then another to my chest, forcing me down, knocking the air out of me.

Panting, I stood, shaky, and entered my fighting stance again.

"Three minutes so far!" Aqua told us. "Two to go!"

It had been three minutes already? Huh...

Silver started to do the same move I had did that made her bleed earlier- the back flip. I barely managed to dodge it, her right foot barely grazing my left arm. She stopped on her hands, then spread her legs and spun around. She managed to hit my chin twice before I ducked.

I forced Silver to the ground on her stomach and grabbed her left leg and pulled it back. It wasn't strong enough to break her leg, but enough for her to yell. I let go and swept my leg again, hitting her side hard.

She panted as she stood up again, both of us in our fighting stances.

"One minute!"

We were both breathing hard. Silver's hair had gotten out of her tie, and it stuck to her face. We stood in out stances, trying to regain air again, getting soaked in the rain for a few more seconds.

I wasn't expecting Silver to attack now. I was expecting her to play it safe and let Aqua call it a draw.

But then Silver grabbed my shoulders, flipped over me and slammed me to the ground. I was sure that I heard bones crack.

"Time's up, Silver wins!" Aqua declared.

I rolled over to my stomach, fighting the urge to cough up blood. How did I get beaten up by a GIRL?

Silver crouched down, smirking as she gave me a hand. She helped me up. "Nice game, kid, but you should know to never let your guard down."

I put my hand to my back, wincing in pain. I'd need to morph so I could get rid of the pain and heal any broken parts. "You beat Mom this badly too?" I muttered.

"Nah," She said. Mom was a better fighter than me? She smirked as she saw the shock in my eyes. "I beat her worse. Gave her large bruises. A couple broken bones. Nothin' too major. She morphed it out."

"Nothin' too major my ass." I mumbled. "What's the time?"

"Almost four." Aqua told me.

"Dang," I replied. "I gotta go home now. You wouldn't mind-"

"Demetri doesn't even wear them anymore. You can keep them." Aqua answered.

I gave a faint smile, trying not to wince from the pain. "See you two!" I left them then.


	5. Chapter5Jared

All characters go to their proper owners.

CHAPTER 5- Jared Jordan Fuentes

I sighed as I stood outside of Anilie's room. I had removed the jacket, considering that it was still too hot to wear one inside, so I was wearing a black shirt and the pants. "Ani, you know you can't hide from me forever," I muttered.

I wasn't even sure why Anilie was ignoring me. We had made up about our fight last week. I sighed as I looked at the red, blue and green rope I held in my right hand. I made it so she would have something to seal a promise I was going to tell her.

If she ever opened up the door.

Which, thankfully, five minutes later just as I was about to leave, she did.

"What?" Anilie mumbled, wiping her eyes from sleep.

"Oh, so you were sleeping the entire twenty minutes I've been out here?" I replied.

Anilie raised an eyebrow. "You were here for twenty minutes?" She then saw what I was wearing. "Where did you get that?"

"Yes and apparently, a friend of Mom's." I said. "Here," I gave her the "necklace".

My twin raised an eyebrow again. "What's this for?"

"Must you ask so many questions?" I muttered with fake annoyance. "Something for you to remember a promise."

"What promise?" She countered.

I rolled my eyes. "And didn't I just say that you ask too many questions?" Anilie placed her hands on her hips. "My promise that since now Mom died, I'll always be there to protect you, no matter what, even if it means my own life."

A faint smile appeared on Anilie's face. She's been keeping most of her feelings to herself since Mom died since she started getting bullied at school. She wore long sleeve jackets to hide the bruises from Dad until she could morph to remove them.

"Thanks Jar-head." Anilie said, hugging me.

"One, there's the Ani I know," I responded. "And two, it's not Jar-head." I smiled back as Anilie let go.

"Whatever, Jar-head." Anilie repeated as she tied the rope around her neck. "Come on," She closed her door behind her and started down the stairs. "I bet I can beat you at Tekken this time!"

I groaned, remembering that I had played real life Tekken with Silver an hour ago. I combed my hand through my hair, and followed Anilie down.

-a year later-

Not much has changed since the year I last spoke with you. Elfang and Casjar are here, though. They're Ax's and Kylin's kids.

I guess I never told you much about my family, have I?

Well, you already know me, and I guess the same about Anilie, so I'll start with my cousins now.

Elfang, like I told you, is Ax's and Kylin's son. He may be an Andalite, but he spends most of his time in human morph. Lucky for him and Casjar, we don't have to worry about the time limit, Mom fixed that problem. I haven't seen him much as an Andalite now a days. Before, when he was in the Andalite army, I rarely saw him as human. But he quit three years ago, when he was 20, aka, when I was 14. He's the oldest out of all of us, now 23. He has dark brown hair that's messy, never kept, and light brown eyes. He's pretty tall in morph, close to six feet now I think.

Elfang quit the army that he was in for four years because he decided he preferred close range fighting than hiding behind lasers. He started practicing all sorts of Martial arts and fighting with weapons like swords and knives. Since I started having a daily match with Silver, he's been help with practicing.

Casjar is Elfang's sister. She's 19. She's a fashion freak like Rachel and Lauren, but not as much. She knows when she goes overboard and still prefers Capri's and shorts over dresses and skirts. She has light brown hair and green eyes. She spends about the same amount of time as a human as Elfang now. She's like an older sister for Anilie- since Mom died, whatever girl problems she went to Casjar now.

Lauren is Tobias' and Rachel's daughter. She's the youngest out of us. She's 15 now. Like I said in Casjar's information, she's a fashion freak. She drags Ani and Teague to the mall whenever she and Casjar go. She has blond hair and golden eyes. Ani and Teague dread it whenever they see Lauren- because most of the time it means shopping.

Allan is Lauren's older brother. He's 19 too. He has brown hair and green eyes. There's something weird with him, because up until three years ago, he was missing and none of us except Elfang knew who he was. Elfang told us that he was born with two hearts, like an Andalite, and disappeared when I was barely one, aka, when Allan was three. Allan told us he's been in the woods all that time, but I don't know if I believe him.

Teague is Jake's and Cassie's adopted daughter. She looks a lot like Cassie, except that she has her hair long and in a braid. She half of the time acts like Jake, taking the part of leader when we have a mission if no one else knows what to do, then the rest of the time she's exactly like Cassie, breaking up any arguments that happen between us. I also like her. As in like like, for those who don't get it.

And then you people probably all know about our parents. Saving the world from the Yeerks, and all that. And of course you know that Ani's and my mom died, I told you about that already.

Now that we've got that over with, there's one thing I never thought I'd do.

It happened earlier today.

I pulled up the hood to my jacket. Yes, even after a year, I was still wearing the clothes I got from Silver when I met her. Hey, they still fit and I liked them.

The weather was bad lately- on and off rain. Not that I mind, it's OK now that I'm used to it.

Right now it's on. It's not heavy just yet, but I'm sure it's gonna be soon.

I'm nearing the alley between the library and an abandon apartment building. I stopped a few feet before the alley as I saw three figures come out of it.

They're a gang, only one of the many in our city. They're also the only one I can stand- only because I know all of them. But I'm sure none of them remember me.

The leader is Dead-Lee (aka "Dumby"), a tall muscular African American. He wears his black hair in long dread locks, and his dark brown eyes showed nothing but hatred. When I knew him, before he started the gang, he was Craig Browns, the school's track star and wrestling star. Then he dropped out two years ago. His folks died and the only people he has left is the gang.

The second in command and Craig's best friend is Spikes. He's Asian and wears his black hair gelled in spikes, hence the name, and his green eyes show his love for fights. They also show that half the time he isn't listening. He used to be John Lee-Janrei, one of the school's best b-ball players. Then his dad, his only family, started getting drunk and abused him. His dad's in jail now, and John left school for good and joined Craig's gang.

The only female member of the gang was called Icy by Craig and John. She had light brown, shoulder length hair and pale, lifeless and cold blue eyes. Icy used to be Anilie and my friend, when we were toddlers, Darla, I believe, from the orphanage. She came from the same orphanage that Teague did. She ran away when she was 8, myself 6, and been living on the streets since. Darla laughed when she saw John and Craig's attempt at a gang. She put them in their place, and let herself in the gang. She had a cold heart, hence Icy.

Craig saw me first. "Yo Hellboy," I looked up, knowing he was talking to me, but unsure where he got Hellboy from. I certainly didn't look like the guy from the movie! "Give us yo money, fool." Darla leaned against the wall of the library, and John stood behind Craig, eyes showing he couldn't wait to beat me up.

I smirked. "What money?" I mocked, receiving a growl from Craig.

"Don't play with us boy!" Craig snapped.

"Or what?" I replied. "You gonna do somethin' about it, DUMBY?"

"You're gonna get it now," John stated, smirking.

"Like I care, Janrei." I told him, surprising him by the fact I knew him other than Spikes, his last name at that.

"Come and get me," I taunted. I wasn't gonna morph, I was going to have a fair fight with them, like I did with Elfang and Silver.

And I was thankful for those fights then.

Craig charged first. He ran to me and tried to punch me with his right fist. I fell to the ground.

"Ha," I heard Craig say. "The easiest fight ever. Didn't even hit him!"

I let Craig think he won- and let his guard down. Then I got up while sweeping my leg under his feet. I guess I under estimated my strength, again, because he fell backwards. Craig groaned as I stepped a good distance away.

Craig stood up and tried to punch me in the face again. I blocked him with my arms then steadied him, kicking him once on each side of his face. Seemed like it was too strong, again, because this time, Craig was down.

John came right after. He tried to Karate kick me in the chest, and I barely managed to dodge it.

John was quicker than Craig, I realized as he let out multiple hits with his feet and fists. Soon my arms were bruised from blocking his attacks.

"How do ya like me now?" John smirked as he let a punch to my left side of my face, with made it's mark. I stumbled back a few inches before getting my footing again, only to be hit with a punch to my chest.

I fell to the ground, panting, trying to regain the breath that he had just knocked out of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that John was getting within kicking range. He was checking if I was OK, I thought.

I quickly stood up and kicked him in the face before he could see it coming. Blood drew, and John was out.

"Just you and me, Darla." I said, wincing in pain from the hits I took from John.

Darla gave a smile. "What makes me believe that you would fight a girl?" She laughed.

Too confident. Darla believed that I was the type that would only fight in self defense, and never against a girl.

I returned her smile. "The same reason that I'm attacking first." I grabbed Darla by her shoulders, doing the same move that Silver had won with when we first fought. But just as I flipped over her, and before I managed to throw her over me, she got out of my grasps and kicked me in the face with her boot heel.

"Note to self," I muttered as I wiped the blood that I had coughed up. "Never fight someone wearing boots." I waited for Darla to make her move, knowing that I'd grab her leg if she kicked me and slam her into the ground on her stomach so I could bring it back, close to the point of breaking it, but just enough to leave her in great pain.

And kick she did. I did exactly what I planned and this time my strength wasn't over estimated- I didn't hurt her as much as to breaking her leg, but still enough to make it hard for her to kick me.

Darla winced and growled at me as she stood up. She started throwing punches, since I had hurt her right leg too badly to be standing on by itself or to kick. One managed to hit my face, opposite of where John had punched me, and I was lucky that it wasn't on the same spot. Another hit me on the side of my head, hard enough for me to slam into the wall of the apartment building.

I stood, trying to regain my strength. I couldn't let myself be beaten by a girl. I wouldn't. I won't...

I screamed in rage and jumped in the air, kicking her in the air, and in the stomach as I came down. I threw Darla over my back, and she was lucky that she landed on Craig and not the concrete.

Panting hard, I stood over Darla. I made sure that I wasn't close enough for her to hit me, but still close enough to look her in her eyes.

"Have you had enough now, Darla?" I asked, bitterness in my voice.

Darla forced herself to get off of Craig and stand, leaning against the library wall for support. "How... do you... know... my name?" She demanded, trying to recover from her beating.

"I just happen to know you." I said, smirking as I left, leaving the two boys knocked out and my friend confused and scared.

-few minutes later-

I managed to get home without getting jumped again, thankfully, but still in pain as I opened the house's front door.

"...wrong with Jared." I heard Dad say.

"Are you sure it's not grief?" Cassie replied.

I hid behind the walls that separated the main hallway from the kitchen, closing the front door silently.

"I'm sure." Dad stated.

"Who did you say he has been seeing each day?" Jake asked.

"Some person named Silver Nites."

"But didn't you say that this Silver woman say that she was one of Lyz's trainers?" Tobias wondered.

"Yeah, but we've never seen Lyz actually go to train since we've known her." Rachel replied.

"Do you think Jared's behavior has to do with Silver?" Dad inquired.

"Who knows?" Jake muttered. "Maybe this is just a weird stage of grief."

"But guys," Tobias interrupted. "Lyz died a year ago. Why would he still be feeling grief when it's been this long?"

I didn't stick long enough to hear anything else. Once I knew that they were all facing away from me- though I didn't know how at the time- I dashed away up into my room. I closed my door softly, but still hard.

I had hidden all of my hurt since I met Silver. I didn't want to let her see that I was soft, and I wanted to make her proud.

It never occurred to me that I was letting Silver replace Mom.

-a few hours later-

I lied on my back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was recalling how, a year ago tonight, I woke up from a nightmare and Mom giving me the letter that told me about the curse. My eyes were long dry, but yet a single tear still managed to fall out of my eyes. I shivered as I remembered the dream...

I was walking through the hallways of a house. I saw the familiar white walls and the photos of friends and family. This was my house...

But it wasn't.

There was blood splattered all over the frames and walls, still wet, and dripping, spilling onto the carpet.

I opened the door of Mom and Dad's room. More blood...

Their corpses.

I walked in and touched Mom's body, which was positioned on the bed as if she was sleeping, with a bloodied hand. I bent down and hugged her body, whispering that I loved her and that I was sorry that I had to do it. When I let go, her body turned quickly into ashes on the bed. Part of me wanted to panic and run my hands through the sand, yelling out her name, but the part of me that told me to move on to Dad was the one that my body obeyed.

Dad's body wasn't as fortunate as Mom's. His head was sliced clean off, and was held in his hands in his lap as if he would put it back on his neck and it would be OK again. But he never did. Dad's eyes flashed white for a moment, but the emptiness of a dead man's eyes reappeared. I touched his forehead and Dad's body was consumed by a white light and then he was gone.

I left their room, ignoring the fact that I had just seen my dead parents and that it didn't disturb me. I just walked down the hallway once more, looking at the smeared hand prints on the walls that lead to Anilie's and my rooms.

Pausing outside of Anilie's room, I heard the sound of a heart beat. I hadn't heard it before, or anywhere else in the house. I slowly opened the door, revealing what seemed to be an empty room.

But I knew there was someone in there. I could still hear the heart beating, faster now, as if the person was panicking. I stared at the bed, and knew that the heart I wanted was underneath.

I reached behind my back, and grabbed the handle of something. I pulled it out if it's loop and in front of me, seeing it was a single sided, curved sword. I grabbed another with my other hand.

I heard myself saying to come out and I'd make it quick and painless, just like I had done with Dad. If she didn't, it would be a long time of suffering, then a slow death, like Mom's.

Slowly, a brunette female crawled out of under the bed, her hair covering her face, bloodied hands and blood smeared on her clothes.

"Smart girl," I heard myself say and I stabbed a sword into her heart, and twisted it, killing her instantly.

As I pulled out my sword and wiped it clean on my black shirt, the female fell, and her hair fell out of her face revealing...

Anilie.

"No, no, no!" I screamed. "It can't be! I- I couldn't have!"

I had just killed my sister...

And yet...

I didn't care at all.

It was my worst nightmare- being the killer of my family. Even though I only killed Anilie in my dream, I was sure that I had killed Mom and Dad and so many more of our family.

I wanted to fall asleep and forget it all, forget about the nightmare, forget that Mom died, and forget that I was letting Silver take place of Mom. But I knew that sleep wouldn't comfort me. It only would hurt me more and let more of my nightmares come true...

-the next day-

I don't know how I managed to sleep, but it was a dreamless one at that, and I was thankful.

The day was a blur until I was passing by the alley again. I hadn't gotten a chance to morph the injuries out, so the places I got hit in were starting to bruise. I barely managed to walk- after all, I took hits pretty much everywhere. I'm surprised that Dad and Anilie didn't notice how hurt I was.

"Yo Hellboy!" I heard someone yell- this time, I had already passed the alley, so my back was to him. But seriously, anyone else getting De Ja Vu?

"Listen, Craig, I don't have any money. Or was yesterday not enough to get the message through your thick head?" I replied, sighing, before I turned and saw it was Darla. "Darla?" Knowing her, she probably wanted a rematch. "Rematch?"

Darla shook her head no. "Not now, Hellboy. Dead-Lee and Spikes wanted me to get you. And my name's Icy, not Darla."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't have to call you that, and I don't have to call Craig and John that either. I'm not in your gang!"

My former friend rolled her eyes. "Just follow me." She walked back into the alley.

Knowing I had no reason not to, I followed Darla, pulling up my hood. I was wearing the same jacket, but I had changed the pants for mainly black ones with red flames. "What do Craig and John want? I already beat them, and I got no money either."

"We ain't playing to get yo money fool." I heard Craig say from behind me. I turned and there was Craig and John, Craig smoking some weed.

Craig let out a ring of smoke. "We planning on letting you join the gang."

I was dumbstruck. Me? In a GANG?

"Well Hellboy?" John asked. "Ya gonna join or not?"

I gave a half-hearted shrug. "Sure, why not?"

Darla smirked at me. "Now you got no choice but to call us by our gang names, Hellboy."

"Sure Icy. Just one question." I replied. John gave me a cold glare, as if I was going to offend them or say that I was going to call the cops. He was about to get me until Craig stopped him with his own glare. "Why Hellboy?"

John gave a sigh of relief once he heard my question. "Well, considering you have all those serpents and flames on yo clothes, what do you think?"

I gave a faint smile. We'd never know how right the name was.


	6. Chapter 6Jared

Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs, but I do own the gang, the cop, and anyone else not from the series.

(1) Fuzz=cops

CHAPTER SIX- Jared Jordan Fuentes- that Friday night

"Go, go, GO!" Dead-Lee was yelling at us.

"The Fuzz(1) will be hear soon, go!" Icy stated.

"No, we're a gang, we stand together!" Spikes shouted back.

"If you guys are staying, then I am too!" I replied.

"Spikes!" Dead-Lee snapped. "The last thing you'd want is to be paired up in a cell with yo pop!" He turned to me. "And hell, boy, you have a family that cares about you!"

"I can always kick you in the face with my boot, Hellboy. Now you and Spikes get out of here, we can take care of the Fuzz!" Icy ordered.

Spikes frowned but then turned in the opposite direction, away from the place that the Fuzz would be rushing to. He paused when he noticed I wasn't following, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him.

When we were in a nearby alley, I pulled my wrist from Spikes' grasps.

"Are you crazy Spikes?" I told him. "What if Icy and Dead-Lee needs our help? We gotta go back!"

The Asian shook his head. "No, we can't." I thought I saw a tear form in his eye. I forgot that he and Dead-Lee were close, even before the gang. "I know that in the last week you got close to them, but they know what they're doing. We can't disobey them. They care for us- why else do you think they told us to run?" When I didn't answer, he continued. "Icy and Dead-Lee will be OK. They know what they're doing. After all," He gave me a faint smile. "Dead-Lee was on the track and wrestling team and Icy beat him and me."

But I beat her, I added mentally. But I didn't dare say it out loud. From all I've known of Spikes, he wasn't the one to cry, even when his dad started abusing him. He was like Johnny from The Outsiders- and ironically, had the same first name and basically same story. Spikes was the one I knew wouldn't give in. I'd never thought I'd see him start to break.

"Come on kid." Spikes said, starting the long walk back home. "Let's get you home."

-the next day-

I couldn't believe it when I saw the news the next morning. I dashed out the house and over to our alley- the Scarlet Dragons' Alley.

Icy and Dead-Lee HAD to be there. They'd laugh when they saw me panting and wide-eyed, and shake their heads and tell me I should have trusted them when I told them what I saw on the news. Spikes would wake up from his spot and ask me where the fire was. I'd smile and sit on the ground next to him and say that it was nothing but a false alarm. He'd laugh and mess up my hair, which wasn't that neat anyway, then say that I needed to cool down. Dead-Lee would say that no jail could keep him imprisoned. Then Icy would slap him on the back of his head. He would rub his head and add, if I didn't have Icy, of course, then when Icy wasn't looking shake his head no. But Icy would still find out, and probably give him the boot to the face. Spikes and I would probably start laughing our butts off, until Icy would threaten to give us the boot too. Then we'd go on our run in the shadows, scaring people into giving us some of their money, but never hurting them. We'd go back to our Alley to split up the money between the three of them, and then it would be Icy's turn to fight me, Dead-Lee and Spikes practicing on their own as well. And when we'd finished, I'd go home and tell Dad that I went out to eat and was at Silver's. Then all of my fears would be gone, and I'd be the carefree teenager I was before Mom died.

I wished.

Spikes was awake when I got there, on top of the dumpster, arms on his knees, staring at the wall opposite of him. His eyes was cold and almost lifeless, like Icy's were most of the time. It scared me- Spikes was more of the laugh about life and dying person, nearly never serious.

This experience was changing all of us, in ways that I didn't want us to, but couldn't prevent.

"Spikes?" I called softly, running a hand on the wall, fearing that if I didn't I'd end up passing out and telling myself that it was all a dream.

His eyes glanced my way and he threw an used cigarette on the ground. "Jare," He whispered, his tone emotionless.

I paused, not sure what to say. It never came to me that Spikes even knew my real name. I figured that after he dropped out several years ago, and even before that, he never even knew me, and if he did, that he'd forgotten. "Is it..." I cleared my throat, trying to keep calm and not breakdown. "Is it true?"

Spikes lit another cigarette. "Heck boy, of course it's true." He said before he put it in his mouth. He blew a ring of smoke before continuing. "We ain't gonna see 'em again for several years after what we've done."

What Spikes meant was after we stabbed that officer. He was going to pull a burner, as the others called, aka a gun, on Icy, so Dead-Lee pulled out his blade and stabbed him. It was self defense, but since Spikes and I were the only witnesses, and we didn't really want to be turned in ourselves, no one would know.

Something insane but needed to be done if I wanted to get them out entered my head.

"I got an idea."

-later at the jail-

"This is nuts, Hellboy!" Spikes said for at least the thousandth time since I told him my idea.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, Spikes, ya want to see D-L and Icy or not?"

"I..."

"Exactly." I replied, getting ready to leave so I could get inside the jail, before Spikes grabbed my arm. I turned to face him.

"I still don't think it's right to let a skinny little kid like you go into that hell-hole alone." Spikes told me.

"Spikes, you're only a few months older than me," I stated. "And besides, if that's Hell, then I'll fit in perfectly- I'm Hellboy, remember?"

Spikes shook his head, a slight smile on his face. "I'd change your name to Nutso if you get out alive." It looked like Spikes wanted to stall some more, but he let go of me.

((You better know what you're doing Jar-head.)) I heard Kala say.

((Kala?)) I wondered. ((When did you-?))

((Been in here since this morning while you were still asleep. Don't know how I got from the closet to your head,)) Kala answered. ((Jared, a gang? Boy, you need to let me in your head more often! Why in the world would you join a gang?!))

((If you're not going to help, then shut up!)) I snapped.

Kala sighed. ((Do you have an adult morph that looks like Craig and Darla?))

((And Spikes. Kris Browns-Lee. Male, twenty-nine, around six feet tall, mixed African American and white, black hair, green eyes, blah, blah, blah. Why?))

((Knock out the head officer or something so I can enter him or her and control him or her. Morph into Kris, and I'll tell the officers guarding Craig and Darla that you're their distant uncle and that an anonymous tip from a witness that Craig attacked the officer in self defense and that the officer was going to shoot at Icy for no reason other than looking like she was going to cause trouble. Then I'll unlock them, you tell them to wait for them outside if other officers are looking, if no one is, tell them to go back to the Alley, and include the secret password if you have one. I'll leave the head officer then you grab me and meet them outside or at the Alley.))

I shrugged mentally as I hid in the bushes by the jail. ((Better than my plan,)) I removed the jacket, revealing my black shirt that I used for morphing, but kept the pants. They were just normal black ones anyway. I focused on the morph I called Kris, and heard my bones grinding as I grew taller, and my skin change color. I guessed when I was done, since it is hard to tell when you're done morphing if you're morphing the same species. My black shirt was tight against my muscles that I had as Kris. And knowing we didn't really have a secret password, or at least, none that I knew of, I tied the jacket around my waist. Dead-Lee and Icy knew that it was the only article of clothing that I wore constantly since the time I joined the gang, so it would be the best thing to use for them to know it was me without scaring them with the thoughtspeak and having to explain to them who I was once they found out that I could talk in morph.

I looked in the window that was by the door. There was a tall Filipino man that looked a lot like-

((That's Lyz's foster brother!)) Kala exclaimed when he saw him.

((The head officer?)) I asked, to be sure.

((Yes- look, on the tag it says his name! Jerome Beltran, Jr.)) Kala stated.

((Does he know?)) I wondered.

Kala ended up making me do a slight nod. ((He found out once the war ended. Lyz told him and his parents herself when she got the chance.)) If he had a face, he would have opened them wide when he realized what I was thinking. ((If you tell him who you really are, he'll be able to help us get them out!))

Hopefully, I thought as I entered the jail.

Jerome lifted his head and looked at me in confusion. "How can I help you, sir?"

"Jerome Beltran?" Kala had me ask.

The man nodded ever so slightly. "Yes, that's me."

"I'm here to talk to two of your cell mates." Kala stated.

He nodded again. "Who?"

"Craig and Darla- the two who call themselves Dead-Lee and Icy. They supposedly attacked an officer?"

"Uh-huh." Jerome said as he wrote that down in the visitor log. "May I ask who you are?"

"Kris Browns-Lee, aka, Kala." Kala replied.

The man gave a slight chuckle. "That's odd, my foster sister's Yeerk had that name, Kala."

"Yes, Lyz was a crazy one. Talked to birds as if they talked back. Then it all turned out that the animals she was talking to were Animorphs and that she was helping them save the world." Kala said, using a slightly subtle approach to let him know that he was Kala. "The Yeerk's number wouldn't happen to be 115? And she wouldn't have happened to have been the only original one to be able to morph without a time limit?"

The man's eyes lit up in confusion. "How do you know that? That information has never been exposed to the public!"

Kala smirked and offered him a hand to shake. "Kala 115, at your service!"

"Kala!" Jerome repeated. "How's Lyz? I haven't heard from her in a while! Is that her in morph that you're in?"

I blocked out all of the thoughts of Mom that was coming in. I didn't want to break down here.

Kala shook my head sadly. "Lyz died almost a year ago, Jerome. Cancer."

The smile on Jerome's face disappeared. "I see. So who is this host that you're in?"

"Marco's splitting image- Jared, Lyz's son." Kala stated, bringing back down the hand. "He's in morph right now, we weren't expecting you to be the head officer. Craig and Darla are his friends, and he and another friend John know that the dead officer was about to shoot Darla for no reason, hence why Craig stabbed the officer. He and John would have gone to say that they were doing it in self defense if they knew they wouldn't have been accused of being accomplices."

Jerome nodded. "Self defense, correct?" Kala/I nodded. "I could help you get them out. Jared have a morph that can see in the dark and lead them out of here?"

Kala smirked. "I can make one up." I had no idea what he meant by that. "You can erase the footage on the cameras, right?"

The cop nodded. "I'll be right back and put the film on loop so it'll seem like they were there the entire time and we were talking, only for the three of you to disappear during the blackout."

Blackout?

The man returned after a while, holding a ring of keys. He signaled for Kala to start morphing as he began to unlock Dead-Lee's and Icy's cell. They weren't paying attention, their backs to Jerome as he unlocked the major part that separated them from the rest of the world. Before he turned the final turn for the lock, he put up three fingers. Three minutes.

When Kala started having me morph, it seemed like I was morphing an Andalite. But then instead of the normal almond shaped eyes, two large circular ones appeared. Kala covered my eyes with blue feathered hands. The light was intense!

I'm pretty sure that I heard my bones go hollow and felt a beak form on my face, but I was probably just hearing things. Then again, you can never tell what happens when you're morphing- especially when you're not the one controlling it.

The lights went out then Kala uncovered my eyes. Jerome was getting in the posistion to make it look like he was attacked when they escaped. He put up two fingers again to say that we had two minutes to get out of here.

Kala opened the door and grabbed the wrists of Dead-Lee and Icy. They tried to escape, considering that it must be weird for a non-human hand to grab them in the dark, but the morph was stronger. Kala dragged them towards the door, trying to get them to see that we were trying to free understood- a miracle!- and followed us out of the jail just a moment before the lights went back on.

I took control again and pulled us all into the bushes, getting a good look at myself in the window.

I was basically an Andalite- but with owl features scattered all over. Owl eyes, blue feathers, a beak, possibly hollow bones, and claws instead of hooves for the back two legs.

"W..." Icy gasped. "Are you an Andalite?"

"A weird lookin' one if I've ever seen one!" Dead-Lee stated, looking at me.

((And you're a weird looking human if I ever saw one!)) I countered, crossing my feathered arms over my chest.

"Jare?" Icy wondered, standing up.

Dead-Lee looked between Icy and me. "Hell, boy, how'd you do that?"

((Guess you're the only one who doesn't remember who and what I am.)) I stated, beginning to demorph.

He gave a questioning look to Icy, who sighed in return. "He's Jared Fuentes, Dead."

"Ya 'em Animorphs' kid?" Dead-Lee responded, surprise in his voice.

((Ye-)) "-ah." I said, my thoughtspeak becoming normal words as I became more human than whatever I was. The last of the feathers melted back into my skin and I replaced my jacket on.

Icy looked at me. She seemed... shorter.

"What's wit' the dye and contacts, kid?" Dead-Lee looked like he was the same height as me, though I was pretty sure he was taller...

"What?" I asked. My voice didn't exactly sound like my own. It sounded more bitter and harsher. I looked at my reflection in the window. White hair that grew long in a tie at the back- sort of like Lei Wulong from Tekken- and cold, lifeless red eyes met me, on a face that looked forever scarred and molded in an expression of pure hatred. Then the reflection smirked and waved as it turned around and faded back into my real reflection- that of a teen, son of two Animorphs, Jared Fuentes.

"I think we smoked to much this time, Dead." Icy stated as she blinked. "We're seeing things."

Dead nodded. "Come on, kid, let's get Spikes then bring you home."

That was my first encounter with the demon lurking inside of me.


	7. 7 Jared

**Sorry it's been a while... been busy doing plenty of random things... ^^; well, here it is, chapter 7. **

CHAPTER SEVEN- Jared Jordan Fuentes- a month later

For the first time in weeks, I was back.

I never thought I'd be back here in my entire life.

But I had nowhere else to be even if I wanted to.

My family- as in the teens, not the parents- were all off at the mall, Casjar and Lauren by choice, Anilie, Teague, and even Elfang by force.

The rest of my family, the parents, were having an important meeting at our house so I couldn't go there.

Dead-Lee was out of town, hiding it out until the cops were convinced that it wasn't him who stole that 9 mm two days ago, and it wasn't, because two days ago he was sick with a fever, but the cops didn't believe that.

Spikes was getting sick with the fever- probably caught it from Dead- and had told me to keep my distance so I wouldn't get sick. "Can't let our MVG get sick, now can we?" Spikes started calling me MVG- Most Valuable Gangster- every once in a while since the gang found out I could morph.

Icy was stuck in court today. Something about her parents finally coming up and wanting her back with them. None of us believed that, of course, especially Icy. "Why would they want me back after eighteen years of leaving me in this dump?" She had spat at the cop. "Besides, I'm eighteen, and I'm old enough to take care of myself!" But it still didn't get her out of going to court.

So here I was, outside of the three-story house, once again.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked.

I spun around and saw a guy stopping on his skateboard. He had messy black hair that kept getting in his bright green eyes. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with some strange logo that I've never seen before and torn jeans.

"Who are you?" I replied, before saying anything else.

He kicked his board and picked it up. "I'm Nico." He glanced at the house. "I live here."

"Oh..." You idiot, who knows if they had moved already? They could be on the other side of the world. "In that case," I started to leave. "I'm probably at the wrong address,"

"Wait a sec." Nico called after me and skated in front of me. Hadn't the board- wait, no, the board was still in his arm. He had wheels in his shoes too, I realized. "Are you looking for Nites?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking for Silver."

"She's here," Nico stated. "My mom made me move in with her. Said she could teach me some stuff." He shrugged. "Don't know what though. All I've learned is the many ways someone can keep me off of my wheels." He skated to the garage door. "Come on, she may be here." He opened up the door.

My eyes opened wide as it did.

'Cause inside was a brand new, jet black Harley with flame decals.

"This ain't yours, is it?" I asked as I study the Harley. I've always liked motorcycles and fast things since I was a kid. Always thought about getting one when I was able to- and technically, I was, but I just haven't taken the classes for them to let me drive one. "I mean..." I turned to Nico. "You don't look-"

"-Sixteen, I know." Nico finished. "I am, though, and yes, that is mine." He opened the door that separated the garage from the actual house. "Silv, some dude is here! Looks a little on the young side to be your date!" He shouted up the stairs as he dropped his board and gear on the floor.

I stared at Nico in shock. "What the heck are you talking about?" I said to him.

Nico smirked. "Silv's got a date tonight. I'm just playin' with her." He whispered to me.

"What do you mean? Smith's-" Silver began. She stopped talking and walking down the stairs when she saw me. "Fuentes?" She said, as if she didn't believe her eyes.

"Silver?" I replied, shocked. She was wearing her hair in curls, and wearing a knee-length black dress with matching black high heels and purse. I blinked then turned to Nico. "Who is this woman and what did she do with the Silver that kicked my ass like it was a hacky-sack a year ago?"

Nico laughed. I bet it was mostly because of the "kicked my ass like it was a hacky-sack" part.

Silver coughed then started walking down the stairs again. "What brings you back here? I haven't seen you in a while." She put on a long brown coat over her dress.

"My gang's all up in court or sick." I stated, sitting on the couch. Nico tried to take it from me, but with some effort, he gave up and sat on a chair. "And my fam's either at the mall- by force or by choice- or at my house having some important meeting like back when they were kids- which probably was hundreds of years ago."

"Still got your father's witty comments, I see." Silver muttered as she checked her purse for her phone. There was the sound of a motorcycle outside revving. "There's Smith." She said, getting all of her stuff together. "Listen, while I'm gone, you wouldn't mind practicing with Nico, would you? Thanks, bye." She left without even letting me answer.

My companion groaned. "You're not gonna make me practice with you, are you?"

I smirked but it was gone before Nico could notice it. "No," Nico sighed in relief. "I'm gonna have you fight me." Nico groaned again and sank into his chair. I just laughed at him.

-Outside-

"All right, one five minute battle, then we stop and do something else- video games, hack into some places, TV, race on boards or something, etc," I said the hacking part as quickly as I could, so I was surprised when Nico heard it.

"You hack into other computers?" Nico repeated. He saw the shock on my face and shook his head. "Forget it. Come on, let's see if you're as good as Silv says." He turned the digital timer on then we both entered our fighting stances.

I wasn't expecting Nico to be fast without any wheels with him. I also knew that we both decided to go barefoot for this battle. So, imagine the surprise I had when Nico was several yards away to having his fist colliding with my left cheek when I blinked.

Fighting for my balance, I frowned and wiped the bit of blood away with the back of my hand. How did this kid get so damn fast? I did a quick, but hard jab to Nico's stomach with my right elbow.

Nico stumbled back, surprised at how fast I'd recovered. He shrugged it off and ran again towards me with his right fist held back, ready to strike.

I barely managed to block it with my arms. I instantly wished that I hadn't practiced with Icy yesterday- Nico had punched directly into one of the bruises Icy ended up giving me.

But I ignored the pain, and kicked him in the shins with one of my feet. Nico lost his balance and fell on his butt. He winced and stood up again, sweeping the floor as he did. I barely managed to jump over his leg. He did another kick-sweep as I landed, forcing me down again. I kicked him again as I did a back flip to get up. Nico only lost his balance for a second.

The kid tried to tackle me down, a move that I barely managed to equal by putting up my own hands. We stayed like that, pushing the other, trying to knock the other down, for maybe half a minute or so. I suddenly let go and quickly stepped to my left, letting Nico fall down on his face.

Groaning, Nico got up. He had a bit of mud on his face, but it didn't seem to bother him. He just stood there for a moment. I had almost thought he had given up when he grabbed my shoulders and did a back flip off of my chest- it oddly reminded me of something Mom said one of her teachers often said he would do if the class made him "go crazy."

I could feel a cut open up again. I cursed myself for not morphing so it would be gone.

Getting back to my feet, I noticed we only had two minutes left. I blocked a move that I knew Nico was going to do- the same move I had done to finish of Icy- but yet didn't know at the same time.

Was I getting some sort of new power to see the future? Was my power from the Hidden the power of controlling Time, like Mom?

The Hidden. I hadn't thought about it in a long time.

I frowned as I blocked another blow. It was the Hidden's fault that Mom died. If the Hidden didn't exist, Mom would have never died.

F---ing Hidden.

I briefly remember flipping over Nico and flipping him over me, leaving him breathless, making me the winner.

I snapped back to earth when I heard the timer buzz. Nico was struggling to sit up. I gave him a hand and he took it. "Sorry, dude, I was thinking about something."

Nico winced as he stood. "Must of been hell of a something if it got you that mad that you almost broke my back." He muttered. "I think Ethan's in his room, he's the one that helps me with my injuries after fights. Maybe he could stitch up that cut of yours or something,"

I glanced down and saw some blood seeping through my shirt. "Ah it's OK, I'll probably only need another shirt that's all. Come on," I helped Nico enter the house.

"Hey Ethan! Dead man walking!" Nico yelled when he managed to sit down on the couch- he was in obvious pain.

"Listen, I'm really sorry." I repeated.

Nico gave a faint smile. "It's ok." Nico winced again. "Silv beat you up this badly too?"

I thought back about that time a year ago. "Yeah, I heard some bones crack." I thought a bit longer. "Come to think of it, she defeated me basically the same way I did to you."

A guy in his twenties suddenly appeared at the doorway leading from the stairs to the living room. His brown hair covered up his left side of his face, covering most of a long scar. His eyes were almost pitch black, but not like Silver's were. Silver's would have looked dead if not for the mysterious gleam in them. But this guy's looked practically dead. Like no one was home.

He glanced at me then at Nico. "What's it this time?" He sighed. He was Ethan I guess.

"Erm, Silv told me to practice with snake-boy there and I pretty much busted my back now..." Nico replied. "Sorry to bother you, Ethan."

Ethan shook his head. "I wasn't doin' anything anyway." He turned to me. "Thanks for bringing Nico in- I don't think he would have managed to get an inch further than where he fell, with his injury and his laziness, uh..."

"Jared Fuentes." I answered, trying not to laugh at what Ethan had said.

A spark of recognition lit up in Ethan's dead eyes. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Well, thanks Jared. I'm going to go get the supplies, Nico." He left back up the stairs.

I turned to Nico for an explanation.

"Ethan's been a bit weird lately- at least that's what Silv told me. Said a few weeks before your mom died he got all silent and cut his teaching lesson times shorter with her so they could just talk- like he knew she was gonna die or something." Nico said. He shrugged, trying not to hurt himself. "That's pretty much all I know."

"Wait, Ethan's younger than my mom." Nico gave me a look that said so? "How could he be Mom's teacher if Mom's older than him?"

Nico shrugged again. "I dunno. Don't even know what his lessons were about."

I thought for a moment. "I'm going to go- I have something to do. Tell Ethan bye for me, OK?" Nico gave a slight nod and I left, wondering what was really going on here.

-Back at the house-

I had morphed so I could get into the garage without the original Animorphs hearing me enter the house. When I demorphed, I ended up tripping and falling over something.

"Several injuries gone, some more gained." I muttered as I sat up and turned to see what I tripped over. "We still haven't gotten rid of that old thing?" I wondered out loud when I saw the old "swimming pool".

((It means a lot to your father, Jared.)) A voice said in my head.

((Kala? I didn't know you were still in there...)) I replied, standing and dusting myself off.

((Guess you got used to it, Jared.)) Kala moved my eyes to look at the old piece of junk. ((When you were six, Anilie got Yamphut. Anilie and you were looking forward to playing in that pool that day. She insisted you go ahead with Lyz while Marco and Cassie took care of her.))

The memory started playing around me- but in Mom's eyes, not mine.

_It was dangerous for me to be in the pool with Jared. Any amount of water more than enough just to let me take a shower would lower my core temperature and start making me ill._

_But as I write this down in my journal, sick in bed, I know that it was worth it._

_Anilie had gotten Yamphut and yesterday was the day that her and Jared were planning on having a water day in the back yard. Jared wanted to stay by Anilie's side and help Marco and Cassie make her feel better- I couldn't be involved because I hadn't gotten Yamphut yet, unlike Marco and Cassie. Even Jared had it- when he was four, some sort of reaction to the Blue Box I guess. But eventually Anilie made Jared go on without her._

_Yesterday, I was just sitting there in the water, knowing my temperature was dropping slowly. But Jared was having so much fun, and I didn't want to miss out on this memory._

_He was trying to swim in the shallow water when I had removed my hair tie and threw it in the water._

_"Mommy you dropped this." Jared told me as he handed it to me. I took it and threw it back in the water. He looked at me, confused._

_I shook my head. "You can't make me wear it."_

_I immediately regretted saying it._

_I had stood up, getting ready to remove some water from my clothes, when all of the sudden Jared tackled me._

_Coughing out water, I managed to keep my head up above the water- that would have increased my core temperature's dropping rate- before Jared sat on my back. He started tugging at my hair- he was obviously trying to put my hair tie back on. We struggled like that for a while, before I managed to get Jared back into the water and off of me. He wrestled with me for a while before I gave up and just lied down on my stomach._

_I was completely surprised when I sat up and Jared hugged me suddenly. "I love you, Mommy." He said softly, and smiling, I hugged him back as well._

_"I love you too, Jar-head. Never forget that, OK?" I whispered back in his ear._

_Jared smiled and nodded. "I won't forget Mommy!"_

_"Are we too late?" Marco asked._

_Smiling at my husband and my daughter who was holding his hand tightly, I shook my head. "No..." I said. "But you did miss a lot of fun,"_

_The smiles on my kids' faces when we sat in the pool were enough to keep me strong enough until they were almost asleep in the pool._

_And Jared..._

_This morning when he and Anilie had found out I had gotten sick, Jared cried. He ran up to my side and hugged me tight, tears falling down his face._

_"I'm so sorry Mommy..." Jared sobbed._

_"What... what for?" I asked, confused._

_Jared let go and wiped away a few tears. "I got you sick. It's my fault. If I didn't make you come in the pool with me, you wouldn't be sick."_

_I gave a faint smile and wiped away the rest of his tears and kissed him on the forehead. "It's not your fault, sweetie..." I looked into his eyes, the brown pupils narrowed with sadness. "If you didn't make me come in with you..." I began, placing a hand under his chin and making him look into my eyes. "I wouldn't have had one of the best times of my life."_

_My son sniffled and smiled. "Really, Mommy?"_

_I nodded. "Really."_

_My family is the main reason why I fight Death everyday._

_Without them..._

_I'd be nothing_.

I looked at the old pool again. I closed my eyes and turned away, concentrating on my morph. I couldn't interrupt the old folks, after all. I wasn't supposed to be here.

My mind floated back to the last part of the memory Kala had showed me. "Without them, I'd be nothing," Mom had said.

I looked at the "rising" ground.

Was it possible... that because we were growing up and becoming independent...

That Mom died?


	8. 8 Jared

**I do not own anyone from the original Animorphs books. If I own the characters who weren't in the books, I don't know really... I'm not sure anymore. Do I?**

CHAPTER EIGHT- JARED JORDAN FUENTES:

Ever heard of the saying "fly on the wall?"

Well, when your an Animorph- or their kid- that phrase can become reality.

((Hey Kala,)) I began while landing on the roof above the hallway in between the garage and the main hall. ((Quick question.))

((Hm? What is it?)) Kala asked me, slightly confused and curious.

((How is it that when I morph fly, or any other small thing, you don't get hurt or anything?)) My wings twitched.

((Actually, I don't know. Never bothered to figure out why...)) Kala replied.

"...found this in Jared's room." I heard Dad's voice say when I was about to go up the stairs to my room where I could demorph.

What can I say? I don't like bugs.

"Is that...?" Cassie asked slowly.

Dad must have nodded because the next thing I heard was Jake yelling, "Jared's got drugs in his room?!"

I could almost feel the glare I was getting from Kala- even though technically he couldn't do that because 1, he's in my head, and 2, he has no eyes. ((YOU HAVE DRUGS?!)) Kala shouted.

((It's Dead's, I swear!)) I replied quickly to my Yeerk.

I gave a brief shudder when Kala checked my memories to see if it was true. ((Now, you just have to worry about the Animorphs. You can't exactly tell them- "Kala's been in my head for the past year and he knows that another person had planted it into my jacket pocket when I wasn't looking."))

Should I been human, my expression would be complete and utter confusion. ((It's been a year, how come I can't tell them?))

((I was supposed to have died when Lyz died, Jared. They don't know that I made it to you.))

((Oh.)) I flew over to the living room and sat in the corner, watching the adults argue.

"Why does my nephew have drugs, Marco?" Tobias said calmly but obviously as mad as Jake.

Dad gave a slight shrug. "I know he's been going out to train with the Silver Nites person and often Elf-"

((Elfang, not Elf.)) Ax interrupted.

"-too. But all of our kids admit that there's a few hours each day where no one knows where he is- usually the last few hours before curfew." Dad continued.

"Then it's possible Jared's getting drugs when no one knows where he is, right?" An annoyed Rachel asked. Dad nodded. "We should probably keep an eye on him for a while, right cuz?"

Jake nodded. "I'm sure Lyz wouldn't want Jared to be doing drugs."

((And maybe we will find out what's been wrong with Jared since Anily's death, correct?)) Ax said, digging a hoof into the carpet.

"Hopefully, whatever it is, we're not too late to keep him from going against what is best for him." I heard Cassie say as I left.

Watching me? I won't be able to see the gang then... If they find out I'll be under house arrest...

I landed in my room and demorphed on my bed. They suspected something was wrong with me... Could it be the Hidden is finally effecting me? Am I getting the power Mom said I would get?

Shaking my head, I stared at myself in my mirror.

"Getting pretty dependent on using the Hidden as an excuse for everything going wrong, huh?" Someone asked.

Figuring it was Kala, I laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess so. It helps when you can't find anything or anyone else to blame."

"Do you know what your power is yet?" The someone inquired.

"You know I haven't K-" Confused, I turned and almost fell into (as in falling backwards and destroying my dresser) my dresser when I saw I wasn't alone. "Who are you?!"

The guy smiled. He had dark green eyes and brown hair. He looked a bit older than Dad and wore a dark green jacket and jeans. For a second, anyway. A moment later he turned into a more familiar form-black looking eyes, a saddened and lonely smiled...

"Ethan?" I asked slowly. "You... You can morph?"

Ethan smiled and shook his head. "Nope. I'm the Time teacher, Clokwerk."

Mom's teacher. So that's what Nico meant... "Does that mean I'm Time like Mom?"

He shook his head again. "Silver's your teacher, not me. She also is a Teacher of two powers and wont tell us which power you have. I'm also forbidden to tell you which powers could be yours-your mom told me not to..." He paused. "I know its not my fault that Lyz died but I can't help feeling like it is..."

I gave Ethan a faint smile. "It's ok dude. Being her teach, you must have been close to Mom."

Ethan smiled back. "I'll be making sure you live long enough to find out what your power is, ok?" He continued before I could to ask what he meant by that. "So, how are things going with your girlfriend?"

"Well, Teague's been o- wait, she's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" I blushed hard, and thankful I didn't yell any louder- Dad might have heard...

Ethan laughed- the first time I've seen him look happy in the short time I've known him. "Yeah, yeah. I'll go now, see you next time you end up breaking Mercury's bones." He waved, then jumped out my window. When I looked out, he was long gone.

"Mercury? Nico?" I asked before I leaned back on my bed.

I wonder what will happen...

FLASH!

"Get away! It's not safe!" Someone yelled.

I panted as I jumped over the path of a bullet. Why were they attacking me? I thought as I dodged another bullet. I tried to make myself move, but it was like I wasn't in my own body. I felt something open up from my back- similar to the opening of a bird's wings. Several flaps, trying to get prepared, then I was off the ground.

I flew left and right, not panicked like I was now, but the skilled precision of a dancer of sorts, dodging bullets, buildings and dracons alike.

The one thing this person couldn't dodge, was an African American male who was hiding behind an building's stairway's door. The man grabbed me, and threw some fake silver scales and white feathers in the direction I was going in earlier. He covered my mouth and dragged me down a few flights of stairs and into an apartment room.

"Yo Hellboy," The familiar voice asked. "What are you doing foolin' with 'em Warriors? You do know they want ya head, right?"

I smiled- the body smiled, I mean. The real me was all confused. Since when was I wanted? "What are you doing giving shelter to one of them AND helping me?"

"You know she's my cuz, boy." Dead-Lee said as he sat down on the couch, feet propped up on one side, his head on the other. He looked a lot older, but according to a fallen calendar, it was only two years in the future.

So I'm a wanted person in two years? Dang.

"And I never leave behind my gang." He stated. "Smoke?" He asked, pulling a cigarette out of a carton near the couch and his lighter from his pocket.

"'Course." This future me caught the carton and the lighter, which was closed thankfully. I/He took one out, lit it then tossed both items onto the table. I/He leaned against the wall and exhaled a cloud of smoke. I've gotten second hand smoke before with the 'Dragons,-short for Scarlet Dragons, our gang name- but never expected that I'd smoke myself in the future. "When did you learn I had scales and feathers on my wings?" I/He flapped them once then they started retracting back into his/my body.

"You know the girl. Told me if I ever found a person with scaled and feathered wings not to trust him and to call her or one of the other two Warriors." Dead stated, taking in a deep breath of smoke. "I'm surprised just you alone managed to split up your friends."

I/He winced. "Don't remind me." I/He paused to take in another breath of smoke. "Well, I should go before she comes back and sees me here. I'll be fine, Dead."

Dead-Lee gave a slight shrug and exhaled. "Anything you need? Smokes or anything? And you know I only treat you like this 'cause you're the youngest of all of us Dragons."

I/He rolled my/his eyes. "I'll need some smokes for later, that's for sure." I/He caught a new carton of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Keep it. I got a spare. What else?"

"I might need to borrow a burner." Burner... Why would I need one of those?!

This time Dead-Lee took out a box from under the couch and carefully handed it over. "It's actually legally owned, not stolen like the other one."

I/He smiled. "That's good to know. But you and me both know it ain't going to be used legally."

"Yeah, but maybe you won't need it." Dead-Lee muttered. "Anything else?"

I/He shook my/his head. "Not now anyway. See ya later, Dead." I/He jumped out an open window and spread my/his wings.

FLASH!

"What the heck?" I muttered. I took a look at myself in the mirror.

Was I really going to become a wanted killer?


	9. 9 Jared

Disclaimer: I, in no way at all, own any of the original Animorphs. The only people I own here are the people that aren't mentioned from the original series.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I only now started coming back here ^^; I finished the chapter last night but had to sleep before I could post it... Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER NINE- Jared Jordan Fuentes

The next day, Dead was still out of town, Icy still in court, and Spikes' fever was lower but not low enough where I would be able to go to hang with him by his standards.

I guess I was left with heading back to Silver's house again.

Pulling on a clean black shirt- well I hope it was clean- and jeans, I walked out of my room and out of the house, hoping that Dad wouldn't see me. I was twitching my finger, a variant of Mom's old habit on twitching her leg whenever she was anxious. I would have morphed, but who wants to fight in a biking outfit? I'd get laughed at by whoever my sparring partner is today.

I was going down the steps when I forgot the fact that the step I was about to step on was pretty much broken and made noise when ever you managed to stand on it. Usually it was just a few squeaks and no one would notice but today it seemed worse and it was nearly loud enough to wake up Dad or Anilie. I was more than likely safe since Dad got into the habit of sleeping deeply, and Anilie's room was on the other side of the hall, but she was a light sleeper.

I took a few breaths and started down the steps again, hoping both Dad and Anilie were still asleep.

"Where are you going?"

I just have horrible luck, don't I?

"Out. To Silver's." I replied, turning around to face Anilie.

"This early in the morning?" Anilie wondered, crossing her arms.

"It's not early, it's only..." I began then looked at my watch. "Oh. 6..." My other finger was twitching in my pocket, hidden. "Well I'll be on the roof-"

Anilie's hand wrapped around my wrist. Her face was full of concern, as if she knew something would go wrong with me.

"Jare..." She asked softly. She made me look down the few inches difference so I'd look into her eyes. "Is everything ok?"

I gave a fake smile. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

My sister smiled back at me and hugged me. "I just wanted to make sure." She stated as she let go, holding something in her hand. She put the thing in her hand around my wrist. "Here. For you."

I looked at the colored string on my hand. It matched the blue, green and red one I gave to Ani, but mine was silver, red and black. "A promise?" I wondered.

She nodded slightly. "That you wont do anything stupid that will keep you from doing your promise to me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that be another promise from me?"

"Well I mean that I wouldn't let you do anything stupid so that you could keep yours." Ani corrected, rolling her eyes. "Such as..."

I knew she would say one of the words I didn't want to hear. It's just my luck.

"Jare, you're not doing anything... illegal... are you?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked, trying to be as careful with what I said as I was trying to get down the stairs.

Her brown eyes looked down, her hand holding mine still. "Dad told me what he found in your room. He said that maybe I'd be able to knock some sense into you and make sure you weren't doing anything stupid."

I looked away. "It's not mine. It's Dead's." I whispered. I wanted to tell her everything but I knew she would probably tell Dad. I couldn't let Dad know.

Anilie looked up. "Who's dead?"

"Craig Browns- or Dead-Lee." I stated. "He used to go to our school."

"Like you used to?"

I blinked. "Used to? It's still-"

My sister let go of my hand and put her hands on her hips. "Jared Jordan Fuentes, it's been one and a half months since school started!"

"You're serious? I've missed that much?" I replied. "I thought it was still summer break."

She shook her head. "Ugh whatever. Just go before I decide to tell Dad you haven't been to school once. You're lucky Elfang doesn't have school and can spare time being you. And at least he can pretend he's only human smart not an Andalite- makes it more convincing." She turned around and entered her room.

I wondered why no one ever told me that I was ditching school. The gang probably didn't know since they haven't been in school in a while, and it didn't seem anyone at Silv's house has ever been in school lately. As for Anilie and the rest of the family, I didn't get why they tell me instead of letting Elfang pretend to be me during the school hours. I was pretty sure he didn't enjoy doing that... He was, after all, an Andalite, and he was older than us so even if he was human it would be hard for him since it would basically be relearning everything.

"Hey Jare."

Well speak of the Devil.

"Oh hey Elfang." I said as I locked up behind me.

"It's Wednesday you know." He stated, walking up to me, one hand in his jeans and his other scratching the back of his head. "Silv's gone out of town. She locked up the house."

I cocked my head to the side. "How do you know?"

"I'm an Andalite. I can morph. Put two and two together, Jare. Can you even do that now? You've missed a lot of school." Elfang teased.

Sighing, I joined him on the sidewalk. "So I've heard. Been thinking it was summer break. Why'd you pretend to be me instead of telling me school started?"

"I was told you knew." Elfang stated. "Lauren said you were skipping on purpose- something about being all depressed but not wanting your dad to know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Elf, you should know that nearly everything Lauren will say about me will be false or mostly false."

My friend shrugged. "True, but eh. Anilie agreed with what she said too, though."

"Probably just coverin' for me." I responded. "Who knows?" We turned around a corner. I saw the gang's alley nearby. If Spikes saw me and Elfang passing by he might say something to me. Or if Icy or Dead were back, they might try to get me to come into the alley.

Instead Elfang stopped a few streets before our hang out. I raised an eyebrow, then turned, seeing the school.

"...s-." I muttered. How had I forgotten that the school was this close to our alley? "Elf, I'm-" I began, turning back to him. "-not going in there..." I finished slowly when I saw he was gone.

"Hey man!" Someone called out to me. It was a total stranger. Black bangs covered most of the pale face, showing only a hint of the dark brown eyes. A white Miami Ink jacket over a black Miami Ink black shirt, jeans, and black airwalks with skulls on the side clothed this person.

I stared blankly at him, confused. Did I know him? Or did the Jared that's been going to school for the past month and a half know him? "Hey," I replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Thought I was the only one who was stuck getting here half an hour before school actually started." He stated, reaching me. "What got you here now?"

"Elf." I answered automatically.

He shook his head, laughing slightly. "Heh, what happened to him being the reason you were late all last year?"

I blinked. I knew him last year? Or did Elfang just tell him this? "I dunno." I shrugged.

He put his hand on his side, his jacket flapping around when a speeding car ran by. "Mhm. And you know who I am, hm?"

"...Uh..." I began sheepishly. "You are..." Someone I don't know...

"Why has Elf been taking over for you, Jerry?" He asked then I realized he was a she. Oops. Hey, she was wearing all of this guy stuff out here...

"J... Jerry?" I repeated. Who... Who had called me that before? "W... Who are you?" I wondered. I knew that she was a she, who wore a lot of boy clothes, and was able to change her voice to sound like a guy's. Unless I was getting really hard of hearing and it was like that all along...

She shook her head and waved bye, fading away.

I blinked. "What the freak...?"

Sighing, I shook my head. I was never going to be able to understand what goes through girls' minds.

A half an hour later of doing nothing but just watching the clouds go past, I heard my name being called. I raised an eyebrow and turned my head to face the person.

"Oh, hey Teague." I forced myself not to blush, remembering what Ethan had said yesterday.

"That IS you, right, Jare? Not Elfang?" Teague asked as she sat down next to me, placing her books down in her lap. I mentally beat myself up for not bothering to ask Elfang or Anilie for my books.

"Yeah, it's me," I laughed nervously while scratching the back of my head. "You... wouldn't know where my locker is and what my combination is? And like my classes?" I asked sheepishly. I felt like a fool, asking her this, but she was family, in a way.

A smile formed on Teague's face. "Yeah, it's next to mine. Elfang told me it was your birthday. I have first, third, fifth, and last/seventh period with you. Anilie has you first, second, fourth, and seventh. You're with Lauren in sixth- it's a mixed grade level class."

I blinked, staring at her, not having expected her to know the answer to any of those. "And the subjects of said classes...?" I added slowly.

"Algebra II, science, computer science, English III, history, Spanish II, and technically seventh period is Theatre, but most of the time it's a free period where the teacher just lets us do whatever as long as we don't destroy property." Teague explained, twirling some of her hair around a finger.

"Theatre? How in the world did I get into that class?" I asked, brows furrowing. It made no sense, I was horrible at acting. Elfang... oh. He was used to acting. That was probably why...

"You had an Andalite filling in for you who knew how to act. Military training or something." Teague shrugged half heartedly. "We had no homework in Algebra, and we're just finishing up some worksheets from yesterday. Anilie and I can help you catch up on that. Science... eh, that isn't really my best subject, ask Anilie. Computer science is real easy since you know how to use the computer, unlike me. English, I think you guys are doing the same as our class- reading to the class a story about something relating to gang violence, as if you're in a gang. Fictional, of course." I almost scoffed at that sentence- fictional? I almost let it slip that I was in a gang. "History, eh. You're good with the civil war right? You'll be fine. Spanish... I don't see why you're in it. Don't you know Spanish fluently already?"

"Sí, señorita. ¿Por qué, ¿hay algún problema con eso?" [Yes, miss. Why, is there a problem with that?] I said, glad that I would be passing one of my classes today. She rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face as she scoffed.

"And like I said, theatre is usually a free period. You'll be fine, probably." Teague assured me. "Elfang usually leave all the finished homework in the locker, since he finishes it all during theatre or earlier." The bell rang, signaling time for students to enter before the tardy bell rang. "Come on, we need to get to class. We get more work if we're late to algebra." She grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me inside.

-later, fourth period-

The first three classes was uneventful. I nearly wished I was at Silver's place, even if I probably was going to end up getting beaten by whoever was there or something. Or maybe in the alley with Spikes, even if I would be hanging out with a sick guy. Better than being here.

Fourth period came. I walked into class with Anilie, who was talking about how she had a feeling she failed her essay when she read yesterday. I gave a half hearted shrug as we sat down in our seats at the back of the room. I pulled out the folder Elfang had put my English work in, only to realize that I didn't have any paper titled "Gang Violence." I opened my mouth to ask my twin if Elfang had already read the essay and turned it in before the teacher came back in as the bell rang.

"Quiet, class." The teacher dully said. I mentally groaned- I was seriously about to morph into a bug and sneak out of class. "We will continue reading our gang violence essays. Let's see... You were the last one to read, correct, Anilie?" My twin nodded slightly at the teacher. "All right... Jared, it's your turn."

I cursed mentally, grabbing a sheet of paper that was blank save for my name printed neatly in the corner in Elfang's handwriting. I quickly glanced at the board that still had the prompt- "Gang Violence Essay. Write an essay about how gang violence is bad. If you believe otherwise, write a persuasive essay on why it isn't."

I felt my finger twitch nervously as I stood in front of the class. I was never good in front of any crowds, another reason why I didn't see how I was supposed to do well in theatre. I glanced down at my paper, as if I had written something and was going to read it. Pausing, I tried to get the words to form in my head, hoping that I wouldn't say something stupid like "eggplants are purple."

Clearing my throat, I began.

"Gangs. There are plenty around us." I said, glancing nervously up at the teacher who stared at me with her beady eyes, and then at my twin, who nodded slightly, telling me to go on silently.

((Just turn your real life into an essay, Jared. Doesn't the prompt say you can write an essay on why gang violence isn't bad?)) Kala's voice said in my head. ((And pretend you're just talking to yourself in the mirror, or keep your eyes on the paper instead of looking at them. That's what your mother did when she had to talk in public.))

A small smile formed on my face at Kala's advice. ((Thanks.)) I said, before inhaling deeply and continuing.

"There are gangs everywhere you look. Made up of every race, every age, both genders, from small to large gangs. Some, like many believe, are just out there waiting to cause havoc on the world around them. They beat people up, they rob places, some even kill." I swallowed, adverting my gaze from my paper to see what the other people were doing. About half of the class was doing something else- reading, drawing, or passing notes to each other. Only a handful were paying attention completely, including Anilie- she was probably trying to see if I would let something slip that would say I was in one. The teacher wasn't even paying attention; she was knitting, for goodness sake!

"But not every gang is what they seem to be." I said, gaining some attention from others. "There's some that are simply people who have no where else to turn to because they were shunned by the people around them. They don't mean to do what they do- they're just forced to do so because no one will help them.

"Not everyone understands this, of course. 'Gangs are bad' and that's how it's been for years. Why change it now? Well, if you don't agree, that's fine. This is just my personal opinion, after all." I cleared my throat as I tried to figure out what to say next.

"I know most of you are wondering how I can back this up. I'll be honest- I have a few friends that together are one of the gangs we have here. They haven't done anything wrong- or at least, not enough to hurt anyone seriously. They sometimes pickpocket some people that pass by their alley, but only enough to get by, and they haven't put anyone in a hospital. They don't commit robberies or beat people up." I gave a small chuckle as I continued.

"But, to be honest, I did meet them when they tried to take my money. They did try to attack me, but only when I provoked them to, a task that wasn't so hard to do." I grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be saying this… Anilie would probably figure out what I had been doing… I mentally shrugged- the heck with it. Might as well finish it, since I started with it anyway. "I managed to scrape by safely, but it didn't really seem like they were trying." I admitted. "They just were good martial arts practice- my current teacher's much harder to beat." This earned me some laughs, even though no one knew who this mystery teacher was- I could see by the way Anilie was looking at me that she was confused as well.

"They'd invite me to hang out with them every now and then. I already knew some things about them, but I learned some more with each time I was with them. The gang's leader simply left for the streets because his parents had died, and during his grieving period, found no need to continue school. The second in command was abused by his drunken father around the time he joined- once his father got placed in jail, he quit school to hide from the looks everyone else was giving him, the whispers behind his back, his so called friends turning on his back. He had met up with the leader, and they started hanging out together on the streets, both knowing that they wouldn't be betrayed by the other." I paused, momentarily wondering if Anilie would figure out who the third member was before I spoke. "The last member's a female. She was my friend before she joined the gang that tried to jump me, but had ran away eleven years ago from the orphanage she lived in for unknown reasons and lived on the streets afterwards. According to her, she had seen the previous two member's attempt at a gang, laughed, and promptly beat them up when they tried to take her money. Since then, she's been their third member, which didn't mind the guys after they regained their hurt pride- the leader often jokes about how they need something pretty to look at. Of course, she always beats him up after those comments," Some more laughter.

"I'm not sure if any of you understand what I'm going with this." I said simply, in response to several of those weird looks. "I know many of you assume gangs are bad, but I just gave you an example of one of the ones that aren't. They aren't bad people- they were all like you and me, and still are for the most part. The only difference between them and us is how we're treated.

"They're considered bad because of their situations. They're homeless, for the most part; they have bad relations with most of the people around them; and they only do what they do- pickpocketing, theft- in order to survive. When you treat people like scum, they end up taking that personality as their own- doing these bad things are caused by what they are assumed to do, accused of doing. Eventually, enough becomes enough, and they give in to the stereotype and do what everyone accuses them to do.

"I'm not even sure where I'm going with this now, anymore- just that I want you to consider these friends I just told you about, the things I just said. Think about it the next time you see a gang." I paused again, trying to figure out if I should just end it there or not. "Though, if they are full of evil intentions, then by all means, don't stand there like an idiot trying to find out why they are how they are, run for your lives," I added after a moment. I didn't want to be blamed for their well being when they get hurt 'cause I just said some gangs were good!

I got some applause once everyone realized that I was indeed finished- somehow, I had gotten the attention of everyone in the room. I was heading back to my seat when the teacher- and some of my classmates- told me to hand in my paper to her. I froze for a split second before smiling sheepishly and placing the paper face down on her desk, hoping she wouldn't try to read it now. She called the next person on the list as I sat down. I could tell that Anilie had some questions to ask me, but as the person that was called started reading and we were told we'd get a failing grade if we talked, she wasn't able to do so.

I was glad. Then I realized I had her last period, and she'd probably tell Teague or someone else later.

I groaned slightly and sunk into my seat.

Why did life hate me?


End file.
